Resale Value

GerardC · Dec 6, 2004

....because there is no way the quality difference between them is that great. 

It's based on reliability more so than quality. I believe that the quality is better too. Gerard

KiotiJohn · Dec 6, 2004

I can't think of any really reliable way to quantify resale value as there are simply too many variables i.e. subjectiveness, region etc.
One thing I do know is that if one buys X tractor, does a LOT of work with it, thus saving labor costs, and then gets a good bit of the purchase price back later, he/she has done well.
I know that had I had to pay for all the work I've done thus far with my CK20 it would have already cost me about as much as I paid for the tractor and most of the equipment.
If I took a rather large hit on resale, I'd still probably be ahead. John

sweettractors · Dec 6, 2004

LKGuy, I can tell you for a fact, that any brand new tractor bought today and held long enough will double or triple in value. I just sold a 1959 JD 430W for $6500. It cost around $1800 when bought new about 5 miles down my street /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif--Ken Sweet

Sweet Farm Equipment LLC *Wildlife Foodplot Equipment Speciality*

spm22 · Dec 6, 2004

one of the major issues with resale right now is low rate financing - i find that once you get around 8 grand selling a used tractor, people are comparing it to new with low interest financing. This really stung me on the last tractor I sold. I like to buy old machines, use them and fix them up, sell them for a little profit after a while. Right now, tough to do with such pressure to buy new. Plus, most everyone seems to want hydrostatic, and the older units are gear. as for brands, it really does matter when used because most folks barely know anything more than deere, case, new holland, maybe kubota if they have done some reading. Selling a kioti or mahindra in the paper is tricky, at least here in the n.east where there are few dealers.

Dargo · Dec 6, 2004

Well, actually I made money on the last two JD tractors I had and the last Kubota tractor I had, and I purchased each of them new and kept them for about 3 years each. I will admit that I'm a fanatic on maintenance and I've never had any of my tractors sit outside a single night. I've had to order the last two tractors I bought because I wouldn't buy one that had been sitting outside on the dealer's lot.

I don't know whether prices continue to go up that much, whether eBay is just a great place to sell a tractor, or if I simply had the nicest and cleanest model tractor of that particular year that was for sale at that time, but I really did make money on the last three. I don't realistically expect that to always be the case, but it sure makes the over all cost of ownership pretty cheap with the last two JD's and the Kubota I had! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif For me, it is sure a strong reason for me to stay with those brands.

sweettractors · Dec 7, 2004

and the older units are gear. as for brands, it really does matter when used because most folks barely know anything more than deere, case, new holland, maybe kubota if they have done some reading. 

I may not be around to see it happen, however, I am willing to bet that 25 + years from now most of the low quality Belarus tractors will still be selling for more that the initial sale price--Ken Sweet

LKGuy · Dec 7, 2004

Thanks for all the info and responses. Since it appears so many variables are at work here, I'm even more unsure of what to make of posts that have made the claim that a certain make will have a higher resale value over another make. At a minimum I guess I was hoping that one of the persons who had made the statement might give an example of the situation where they experienced this resale difference.

Bob_Skurka · Dec 7, 2004

I'm not sure that I have ever made that claim, but I would say that when I have sold tractors that I have gotten more for "known" brands than for minor brands (unless I find a collector). My sales are limited to older equipment.

I can't give away an antique Oliver tractor to a casual buyer who is looking to maintain his 5 acre lot around his house. But to an Oliver collector I can get plenty for a well restored unit.

The casual homeowner, especially the one who moves to the country and picks up 5 or 10 acres with a nice house, those are the folks who really don't know what they are doing (TRUST ME, I WAS HIM 10 YEARS AGO) and those are people who want HST and a brand name to go with it. I've had many of them look at my old tractors, they have that "Green Acres" mentality. But they want (NEED) support. They want the security of a known brand.

I no longer advertise a restored farm tractor in the local papers, I go to the collector's magazines and/or to Ebay to sell them after I restore them.

So I will stick with what I wrote earlier because it has been my experience. Resale value is based on the brand, the reputation and the condition. And brand recognition and reputation are very regional. Condition is apparent. Nobody is ever going to convince me that a John Deere won't hold its value. . . and nobody is ever going to convince me that a minor brand will have as strong a resale value as a JD (but that doesn't mean a minor brand will take a bath at resale, I doubt it will do that either).

sweettractors · Dec 7, 2004

and nobody is ever going to convince me that a minor brand will have as strong a resale value as a JD 

Bob, Dont some of the older discontinued tractor lines outsell name brands because of thier uniqueness and limited # of units produced?--Most all brands will be discontinued, eventually. Companies like Ford, Oliver, International Harvester,etc. were morphed into other lines with different branding and a different country of origin-- Ken Sweet

Bob_Skurka · Dec 7, 2004

Dont some of the older discontinued tractor lines outsell name brands because of thier uniqueness and limited # of units produced? 

Ken, I certainly can't speak for all brands and all models, but overall I would say that the collector value is limited to all of these. There are some rare orchard versions of most any brand that will fetch some high (relative) prices. But I also think that "collector tractors" are a somewhat different type of sale, to a somewhat different buyer, than a typical homeowner looking for a used CUT.

But talking about more modern tractors (approximately 1985 and newer) when resale value is considered, I think it is hard to argue that anything can really beat JD. Take a typical 5 to 10 year old CUT with an average of 75 to 150 hours Per Year on the engine, and I think the big name brands will sell at relatively high prices EVERYWHERE in the country. Take an off brand like a Cub Cadet with the same hours/age ratio and it will sell at a good price in SOME areas of the nation and sell at a discount (relative to the Deere) in other areas. And I picked Cub simply because it is a fairly well known brand of the minor brands.

I also see some strong evidence that HST adds to the resale ease (how quickly the tractor sells & how many are interested in it) and resale value of modern (1985 or newer) used tractors.